Greeters Wendi Fischer & Colleen Turner
Wendi Fischer offered a poem that is used at one of our local schools for encouraging the children. (Since it is reasonable to believe that even successful, highly-esteemed community leaders such as the kind who join Rotary can also use a booster shot of self-esteem, along with a reminder to be teachable, the editorial staff of Reveille has deemed it appropriate to offer once again the words of Wendi’s invocation, in their entirety.)
- I am somebody, I am somebody, I am somebody.
- I am capable, I am loveable, I am teachable and I can learn.
- I can do anything when I try.
- I respect myself and I respect all others.
- I will be the best that I can be each day.
- I am precious, I am bright.
- I am somebody, I am somebody, I am somebody.
- (Author Unknown)
Colleen Turner introduced visiting Rotarians and guests, including such distinguished visitors as Scott Harrison (Seattle 4) and the perennial Frank Young (Bellevue). Other visitors included Richard Dean, SSgt Virgil Richardson (USMC), Timmy O’Brien, and Lisa Cohen, Amy McGyver, and Jan Jacobs (PATH).
New Coal Creek YMCA in Newcastle
Michelle Petitti
We were favored with a visit from Michelle Petitti, Director of Development-Eastside Seattle, to thank the BBRC for our contributions to the new YMCA building. The 49,000 sq. ft. facility, which we are welcome to visit, features two pools, two gyms, and wellness programs. The Community Room in the new building will be named the Rotary Room in gratitude for our collaboration.
Ms. Petitti announced that hardhat tours will start in May. She also noted that area YMCAs will be sponsoring Healthy Kids Day on April 18, 10:00 am-2:00 pm. During the announcement, a moment of unrotarian vanity was experienced when the otherwise well-loved Frank Young called out a question as to what construction firm is responsible for building the new facility. As Mr. Young’s own firm, GLY Construction, is the responsible entity, his conflict of interest was swiftly noted and punished by our vigorous Sergeant at Arms, David Bolson, who spritely imposed a fine on the guilty party and restored the due decorum of the meeting.
Later, after Mr. Young had given a brief report on the construction of the Y, the fine was set at $100, and the pentitent and good-hearted Mr. Young immediately forked over a crisp bill of that denomination.
Howard Johnson
Howard Johnson, while ostensibly calling on the club to continue its solid support of the Rotary First Harvest work party this weekend, somehow found it possible to mention that he was in Detroit for the NCAA Final Four this week. Such luxury escaped the notice of SAA Bolson, who was apparently exhausted by his aforementioned sally.
With impunity, the venerable Mr. Johnson went on to inform the members that we are currently tied with the Kent Club for the most hours of service to First Harvest. He called on the members to make a little more sacrifice in the remaining months of the Rotary year (May and June), in order to secure victory in the competition for Volunteer Club of the Year. “We should try to pull ahead,” he urged.
“How do we fund it?” President Jenny Andrews asked. Not by the tooth fairy, as someone in the crowd suggested, but through the Bellevue 5K.
Bellevue 5K Run/Walk
Jane Kuechle
Jane Kuechle announced that 262 have registered, which is more than we had walking last year. “We’re off to a great start,” she coached, “and there are 40 registrations more at Kindering.” (She did not explain how being “off” constitutes a great start, but we are apparently achieving the feat anyway.)
Phil Salvatori
Phil Salvatori mentioned that we haven’t seen much lately of Tom Harrelson, who is suffering from both Parkinson’s Disease and metal poisoning, but he is out recruiting runners. “Give him a call or email to let him know he’s missed,” said Phil.
SSgt Virgil Richardson
SSgt Virgil Richardson, who is with the Marines in Seattle, directing all their marketing for Washington and Northern Idaho, informed the club that the Marines are sponsoring the run as well with a booth. “Team Gordon” will have 30 folks coming out to run in marine togs. One of their men runs 3 miles in 14 minutes, so the others will tail along behind him, no doubt outrunning all the rest of us. It was noted by President Andrews that since the starting and ending points are different, Tim Leahy will have to hurry to get to the finish line before him so he can announce the winner!
Tim Johnstone is organizing volunteers, so contact him if you have any.
Rotary District Conference in Victoria, BC
Wayne McCaulley
Wayne McCaulley updated us on the District Conference, which is three weeks from today. The Gates Foundation will have speakers there, and Seattle 4 will be featured for 100 years in Rotary. We’re also featured, both on video and live for several of our projects.
SAA David Bolson
SAA David Bolson, having recovered from his earlier heroics, returned to the dais, but he found himself immediately buffeted by boos and catcalls and was fined for not wearing a necktie. “How much are dues on our post office box?” he asked. “A mere 58 dollars,” he answered, noting that the bill had not been paid. Robin Collan was accordingly fined.
Frank Young pays his fine.
Four members were then asked to stand because of their birthdays and the customary song was lustily proffered by the membership for the benefits of the anniversarians: Colleen Turner, Wendi Fischer, Chris Ballard, and Paul Chapman.
Ron Black, who has recently fought a bout with cancer treatment, was back in attendance and recognized and applauded by the club.
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BBRC exchange student Cristóbal Baladrón promoted his “Chilean Feast” on April 25th. The cost of the feast is $50 per person, with proceeds going to help cover Cristóbal's expenses in attending a Rotary Youth Exchange Summer Safari to California. Mike Ralph and Chris Monger are members of the Top Chef Team preparing the meal featuring Cristóbal's family recipes. |
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"The Story of PATH, a Catalyst for Global Health," Scott Jackson, Vice President of External Affairs for PATH
Scott Jackson
The speaker, Scott Jackson, is Vice President of External Affairs for PATH, an international, nonprofit organization that creates sustainable solutions that enable communities worldwide to break longstanding cycles of poor health. According to President Andrews, who introduced the speaker, “PATH’s mission is to improve the health of people around the world by (1) Advancing technologies; (2) Strengthening systems; and (3)Encouraging healthy behaviors.“ Andrews explained further that Mr. Scott “has over 20 years of experience working on global initiatives, including serving as a Senior Vice President at World Vision.” He serves on the board of directors of Global Impact as well as several other national boards. Mr. Scott received his MBA from the University Of Edinburgh School Of International Business which he attended as a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar.
Greeting a very appreciative audience, Mr. Scott explained that Rotary has been is an important part of his formation. From Sequim, WA, he is a long-time Rotarian, and he congratulated the BBRC on our tremendous record of service.
According to Scott, the greater King County area has a number of legacies, but one of them is our impact through innovative activities in global health. PATH has been around for 32 years, the Gates Foundation, whose budget equals that of the World Health Organization, and Rotary Clubs have been a huge part of that story, which includes the eradication of polio, clean water and nutrition projects, and the current search for an affordable and effective malaria vaccine. He pointed out that in the latter,
Rotary is making a huge difference, and much of the leadership in malaria research is from the Seattle area. As a member of the Seattle 4 Club, he thanked us again for our part in making the legacy.
Scott informed the club that the PATH offices, in Seattle near the Ballard Bridge, offer a community leaders’ tour. Members interested in participating were encouraged to contact the offices and take a tour. Including the Seattle office, PATH has 34 offices in 19 countries. They are primarily located in India, Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, China, and Southeast Asia.
In his presentation, Scott discussed the aforementioned three part mission and noted that the third aspect, behavior change, is necessary for people to take advantage of advancing technologies and strengthened systems. He especially focused on the malaria vaccine initiative.
Scott went on to discuss global health indicators. While we are losing the battle against AIDS mortality, progress is visible in indicators such as life expectancy, infant mortality, under-five mortality, and lowered fertility rates. “We were making tremendous progress,” he said, “until the 90’s, when AIDS hit Africa hard.”
Jenny Andrews makes the introduction.
Addressing the mission point of Advancing Technologies, Scott talked about how a worker in the field knows if a vaccine is viable. “PATH is often a silent partner,” he said. PATH has developed a heat sensitive label that indicates whether a vaccine needing refrigeration is still viable. If they get too warm, they become unviable. Polio vaccine is cheap, but others are expensive. It is important to know for sure about viability before throwing away a questionable dose. He offered Gladys the Nurse as an example. When she gives a vaccine, she has to know for certain that despite intermittent refrigeration of a vaccine, a baby is going to get its immunizations. The heat sensitive label ensures that the vaccine will be effective.
Another key health issue is “quenching the [world’s] thirst for safe water.” Development workers must determine what the key technologies are for producing clean water with marketplace potential for families living on $2 per day (over 1 billion people!). If we can get the cost down, clean water can become available to them. “Having safe water,” he concluded, “is essential to combating diarrheal diseases and others.” One possible solution to the water problem is electrolysis, which through the use of very small batteries can purify large amounts of drinking water at low costs.
Another issue is the prevention of malaria by strengthening systems. Up to this point, there are successful boutique projects on small scale. Recently, it was PATH’s job to work with Ministry of Health of Zambia to increase access to bed nets from 20% to 80% of the country. While there has been remarkable success and 80% of Zambians now have bednets, only 60% use them. Scott told about how Bill Gates, Sr., recently went over to Zambia and found a villager proud of having a bed net. When Gates asked him to show it to him, the villager pulled it from under his bed, unopened and unused in its original wrapper, to show it off. Still, despite the contradictions, there have been extraordinary results, including a 40% reduction of parasitemial fever from malaria. The lives of over 2,000 children saved. Clinics are empty during malaria season. He brightly concluded that we will make significant progress in near future with a new vaccine on the way.
President Jenny Andrews & Scott Jackson
Preventing HIV/AIDS in Kenya is another important activity of PATH. Scott reported that many people in Kenya now know how HIV is spread. “Our vision,” Scott concluded, “is a world where innovation ensures that health is within reach for everyone. “ Once again, he offered thanks to Rotary for what this movement of men and women is doing around the world.
Since Scott graciously finished early and allowed time for questions, the curious and inquisitive members of the BBRC did not fail to rise to the occasion. One member asked, “How will we know what your results will be?” The answer is that reports will be published through a variety of means. Another asked, “How many of your initiatives become self sustaining in the communities? Have you looked into whether batteries used for electrolysis may be dumped and leach into the water supply?” Scott responded that PATH is aware of that problem. He went on to add that they are paying attention to “sharps disposal” and they are working on a set of low cost solutions to that problem. They will try to do the same for batteries. “As for sustainability,” he said, “we work on the technology, but the local application is put in the hands of local sources that can be sustainable over the long haul. We don’t deliver on the ground and substitute for the systems that are there, working with the ministry of health in Zambia, we have only 5 staff on the ground.”
Another Rotarian asked for particulars about the malaria vaccine. Scott responded that a couple of generations of the vaccine will exist. Glaxo Smith Kline is field testing the first generation of the vaccine in phase 2 and early phase 3 trials, and they may be able to offer a 60% effective vaccine by 2013. Unfortunately, that vaccine will be too expensive for the masses, but a 50% reduction would be very significant to reduce the burden. In future generations, the vaccine should be cheaper and more effective. “It will not be an oral vaccine, and it is not easy to administer, but we’re making the first step,” he said.
A very knowing Rotarian asked about the Relationship of PATH with the Seattle Biomedical Institute (SBRI) and other local partners. Scott responded that SBRI is doing primary research on infectious diseases. They have a vaccine candidate that is far along in its testing and may become a PATH candidate. A number of other good questions followed and received thoughtful replies.
In honor of Mr. Scott’s presentation, President Andrews announced a contribution in his name to Rotary’s Polio Plus Initiative.
Courtesy of Wally Mahoney
"Do you believe in life after death?" the boss asked one of his employees.
"Yes, sir," the new employee replied.
"Well, then, that makes everything just fine," the boss went on. "After you left early yesterday to go to your grandmother's funeral, she stopped in to see you."
• • •
A new teacher was trying to make use of her psychology courses. She started her class by saying, "Everyone who thinks they're stupid, stand up!"
After a few seconds, Little Davie stood up. The teacher said, "Do you think you're stupid, Little Davie?"
'"No, ma'am," he replied, "but I hate to see you standing there all by yourself!"
• • •
Johnny asked his grandma how old she was.
Grandma answered, "I'm 39 and holding."
Johnny thought for a moment and then said, "How old would you be if you let go?"
• • •
The prospective father-in-law asked, "Young man, can you support a family?"
The surprised groom-to-be replied, "Well, no. I was just planning to support your daughter. The rest of you will have to fend for yourselves."